As if Amazon wasn't doing well enough with Windows 8 sales, seeing pre-orders dominate it's Best Sellers list, they have decided to sweeten the deal. Now you can pre-order Windows 8 Pro for $69.99 and get a $30 Amazon credit to boot. For those of you who aren't too good at subtraction, that brings the price down to $39.99, the same cost as the online upgrade price for current users of previous Windows versions.

The promotion with the $30 credit also applies to Windows 8 Pro Pack, which will let you upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 8 Pro. So if you are thinking of building a new PC or upgrading the one you've got, you can find both deals in the source links below.

True, but if you were going to buy two Pro licenses, you can use the $30 towards the second one. If you don't buy from Amazon regularly or have nothing else to buy, then yes, the $30 credit could be worthless. I'm an Amazon Prime member so I can always find something to buy on Amazon, LOL!

I'm planning on doing a fresh install onto a new SSD. Does anyone know if the 39.99 upgrade download will work for me? I know the preview releases gave the option to upgrade existing versions or do a new install

The first thing people try to do on each Windows version is to install a full version from an upgrade license. I'm waiting to see if Paul Thurott will publish a walkthrough about that. He published a walkthrough for Windows 7.

Um, millions of people? I used to build PCs but these days pre-built PCs are pretty damn cheap. Now, if you are building a gaming rig or something higher end, then yes, it's better to build the PC to your liking and you'll probably save some good $$$.

Yeah, I used to build all my own PCs as well, but the pre-built ones now just makes things easier and faster. Plus, I recently upgraded my graphics card and power supply... and it runs great. It might not be glowing with liquid cooling or whatever, but runs the majority of my STEAM games at high settings.

$30 credit only applies to purchases made between Oct 15 and Oct 20 (you have to click on the full terms and conditions to see this). I had pre-ordered mine on Oct 14. Luckily, I was able to cancel my pre-order and place a new preorder.
IMO, Amazon should have automatically applied this to all existing preorders. But, whatever.

The article is wrong. The $69 price ($39 after the $30 rebate) is only for the upgrade price from Windows 8 "Core" to Windows 8 Pro. So you need to have Windows 8 "Core" to use it. Also, Enter still doesn't work on IE 10 when posting comments.

nope.
The local MS Store is running an offer where if you buy a Win 7 machine today, and pay an extra 14.99 at the time of purchase, You can upgrade to Win 8 free when it comes out.
BUT...
If you already purchased a Windows 7 PC (Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate edition) on or after June 2, 2012, you can also register at www.windowsupgradeoffer.com before February 28, 2013 and you might be eligible for the same 14.99 offer. from that site:

Eligible customers must register for the Windows Upgrade Offer through this website by February 28, 2013.

After customer registration and Microsoft validation, customers will receive a registration confirmation email.

Beginning October 26, 2012, registered customers will receive an email with a promotion code and instructions for purchasing and downloading the software. The promotion code can be redeemed during the upgrade ordering process to receive the promotional price.

Customers will be able to purchase a downloadable version of Windows 8 Pro. An optional installation DVD is available for an additional fee, plus shipping and any applicable taxes or duties. Customers can also choose to create their own installation media on DVD or USB media after downloading Windows 8.

Okay - Amazon is all over the place. I see the pricing at $159 bucks for the windows 8 pro. I got it earlier for $59.99 (was 69.99 but you got a 10 dollar discount if you entered "windows8" in the promo code field). Now if there's a 30 dollar off deal - can someone link to it? I don't see that - just the 159 version.

This is a retail box with install disks that is mailed to your house. The $40 upgrade you're referring to is a downloaded update file. It can also be burned to disk. The end result is exactly the same.